Foster creativity and loyalty.
Build commitment and trust.
Boost productivity and performance.
A source of endless inspiration.
So on and so forth.
We might have heard enough about the huge benefits of teamwork in our life. And we all have experienced working in a team at some point.
It could be when we are in schools with team projects or group presentations and reports. Fast forward a few years when we left schools to join the workforce, teamwork seems to never leave us.
In fact, it is considered an essential part of workplace success. But does it really have that power to bring the intended result?
Now, let’s be honest, how many of you genuinely enjoy teamwork and find it really beneficial in your work life?
What it’s like to be in a team
Undeniably, teamwork helps create a sense of community. It also gives everyone a taste of what it’s like to be working with others.
As we work together, we can look at things from different perspectives, learn a lot from others and improve communication within the organization. It’s ideal, yet could not be further from the truth.
When people are interdependent individuals of a team, it usually does more harm than good. We bet most of you must have already known the ugly facts.
Play your part
Because we know teamwork creates unnecessary dependency-oriented thinking and then comes the unexpected lack of responsibilities.
If you’re to do this project alone, you plan to spend more time and devote more effort to make sure you meet the desired result. You’re the only one responsible for the whole thing, there’s no one else to count on. That means you must put 100% into whatever you’re handling.
On the other hand, working in a team with many people, each has their specific roles, it’s fair to think that you just need to play your part, and let others play theirs.
What’s worse, teamwork doesn’t boost productivity as many might believe.
Some people even tend to be free-riders. They’re passively lazy and lie under the apple tree waiting for apples to fall. Even when they cannot do their best, there’s no need to worry as someone else will take up the slack. That sense of dependency is absolutely uncalled for.
Ymese encourages you to take charge of your own work as part of the team to achieve our shared goals in a more efficient way.
The mass opinion
When it comes to decision-making, no matter how excellent your opinion is, you have to follow the mass opinion. Oftentimes, we choose the “best” idea by voting, which turns out not always the best but the most-agreed instead.
While people can raise their voice and express their opinions freely, it seems unlikely that you’re willing to go against the mass to prove your idea is the best. In fact, we refrain from fighting too hard on something that later on might turn into a dispute.
When everyone is looking for compromise, that’s how you have missed the chance to do something better even if it’s against the mass opinions.
The ineffective and time-consuming discussion
We usually spend a lot of time on team discussion to find out ways to achieve what we want. But it’s such a waste of time!
Most people come to discuss others’ opinions without even having theirs. We sit together and start researching the topic together, instead of each person preparing their own.
It takes time for each person to speak their minds, then wait for others and the whole discussion is going nowhere. There will be at least a few discussions before everyone reaches an agreement on a matter.
Needless to say, it might not even be the best due to the effect of the group pressure. Also, if everyone cannot compromise, the project will have to be delayed and this might cause a severe revenue loss.
Whereas, individual work saves our time without having to discuss with anyone and just do things on our own according to the planned timeline. You have total control and freedom over making decisions when needed as well. In other words, you’re fully aware of the responsibility you’re carrying and have no choice but to do your best.
It’s better to work alone
While teamwork helps form a sense of community, it also distresses those who prefer to work individually. They find themselves comfortable with doing the whole task on their own, without depending on others.
Some people believe that they will work more effectively and faster if they’re the only one responsible. Sharing tasks with others means somehow you will need to rely on them in order to accomplish a task. Even though you can get it done in a much shorter time if you work alone.
Not to mention, the quality of your work can be significantly better or worse depending on your teammates. It means you cannot control the outcome when you have no idea whether everyone puts their maximum effort into the work.
So even if you try your best, the final result might not be the best. As a result, you will feel frustrated and unmotivated.
Be your own boss
While we’re confident about being great team players, Ymese still promotes individual work rather than teamwork. We believe that everyone should be their own boss and able to make important decisions on their own.
Of course, teamwork is still needed. We just don’t rely heavily on it to run everything. Especially now when our team is growing bigger, we need our people to understand that the core to teamwork still lies on how well each individual performs.
Teamwork will only be powerful when it’s implemented in the right way. Otherwise, we can totally avoid wasting precious time and get things done faster.